The Real and the Illusory as Mirrors, Thoughts Beneath the Historian's Brush

Qiu Yan was familiar with these words, but he had only ever used them to describe things. Now, facing a long river, Chen Jing suddenly uttered these four words, which seemed quite unusual.

Chen Jing's surprise lasted only a moment, after which he composed himself, displaying remarkable self-control. However, knowing that Qiu Yan had seen his expression, he smiled and said, "I was slightly out of line, please forgive me, Brother Qiu. We were able to get out of the river this time entirely thanks to Brother Qiu's efforts. I thank you in advance and will remember this favor."

As he spoke, he flicked his sleeves, raised his arms, and solemnly bowed.

Strangely enough, the group appeared out of thin air, manifesting as Living Soul and Divine Soul. However, as their souls shifted, they took on the appearance of physical bodies, almost indistinguishable from the real thing. To the naked eye, there was no discernible difference on the surface.

At this moment, Chen Jing bowed, his clothes fluttering, and Daoist Lu also clasped his hands in thanks. Tao Ying's expression was somewhat unnatural, and a hint of fear appeared in her eyes as she looked at Qiu Yan. She also bowed in thanks.

Four people are suspended in mid-air above the river.

After receiving the greetings from the three people, Qiu Yan did not reply, seemingly waiting for something.

Chen Jing, being quite perceptive, smiled slightly and pointed to the long river below, saying, "This river is called the Historical River. It is said to run through the Scholar Forest. My Chen Household ancestors recorded this in books. Please forgive me for not informing Brother Qiu beforehand; there is a reason for this."

He looked directly at Qiu Yan and calmly said, "This matter was due to my lack of consideration, which led to an unexpected incident that almost put me in a difficult situation. Fortunately, Brother Qiu is very talented and saw through the illusion of Thought Projection Scene."

"What exactly is this 'Thought Projection Scene'? Are the things inside real or fake?" Qiu Yan shook his head, interrupting the other person, and directly asked the question that was on his mind.

In fact, back in the Liang Kingdom, after Qiu Yan heard that faint sound, he realized that Chen Jing and the others were probably observing him from another level of the soul realm.

Logically speaking, with Qiu Yan's cultivation in the Soul Dao, his perception is extremely sensitive. No matter how soft the voice or how chaotic the thoughts, as long as he can capture them, he can analyze their meaning. However, Chen Jing's words were vague and unclear. Apart from being able to identify his identity, no other information could be obtained.

Qiu Yan noticed this and immediately began to analyze the Incense Faith in the Divine Spirit Body, eliminating various possibilities and drawing several conclusions.

After that, Qiu Yan discovered a sense of probing within the chilling aura surrounding him. After advising the King of the Liang Kingdom, the chilling aura persisted, and the probing intent disappeared as well. Now, as he leaped out of the water, the other three revealed themselves, and the answer was almost obvious.

"It seems that Brother Qiu had already discovered this. In fact, I really didn't expect this accident. I thought that since Brother Qiu hadn't studied at any academy, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to present his articles. But I didn't expect that an academy would still present Brother Qiu's manuscripts, which led to what happened later."

At this point, Chen Jing shook his head. "However, judging from Brother Qiu's appearance, he was clearly unaware of it either. From this, we can infer that the handwriting, which had been circulating outside, accidentally ended up in a certain academy."

Seeing the smile on Chen Jing's face, Qiu Yan had a thought—

"Chen Jing should have already figured out which academy was behind this."

However, Chen Jing did not dwell on this point. After explaining the reason for the matter, he changed the subject. "As for this Thought Projection Scene, it is also known from the writings of our predecessors. Since Brother Qiu has asked, I will not hide it. In fact, to explain this matter clearly, we need to start with history."

He raised his hand and pointed downwards. "This river is called the Historical River. Brother Qiu's previous experiences in it should give you some understanding of this name."

Qiu Yan nodded without replying, but his eyes scanned the surface of the river back and forth.

This river is wide and its source and end are nowhere in sight. It seems to come from the horizon and go to the horizon. On both sides of the long river are dense forests. The trees are thick and shrouded in a light mist, so that neither perception nor sight can reveal the scene.

The strangest thing was the ground by the river, which was covered with a layer of pure white crystalline material. Qiu Yan looked closely and realized it was a layer of white frost.

Seeing that Qiu Yan remained silent, Chen Jing's expression remained unchanged, his smile undiminished, and he continued, "This river is named after history, so it naturally holds profound mysteries. My ancestor once told me, 'If no one records it, the past is meaningless.' This shows that only things recorded by people are history, and only then do they have meaning. History has always been written by Historians' School, and it embodies the thoughts and ideas of Historians' School. This river is formed by the convergence of these thoughts!"

Hearing this, Qiu Yan withdrew his gaze and asked, "Convergence of thoughts? So, the scenes inside are all fake? Illusions that don't exist?" He recalled what Zhang Qin had said, and now it seemed that it was likely Vertical-Horizontal Method to confuse his concepts.

Chen Jing shook his head. "The thoughts of a historian are different from those of Scholar's Thought. Even if they are influenced by their own feelings and inclinations and fabricate something, they cannot create something Creation from Nothing. Their duty is to 'record.' Therefore, some of the scenes in the river may be illusory, while others are real. They may be things that have happened in history or things that are happening now..."

He pondered for a moment before saying, "If our Soul Entry into the Scholar Forest and fall into the river, connecting with a single drop of water, we might be able to delve deeper into it and enter a world that may be real or just an illusion. If it is real, then this world actually exists, and with the help of the Historical River, our souls can transcend time and space to descend upon it."

"Transcending time and space? Able to flow upstream?" Qiu Yan suddenly frowned, his gaze sweeping over the long river again, realizing its immense value. "Doesn't that mean that, based on this river, one can experience all aspects of history?"

"That's true," Chen Jing nodded. "However, precisely because it's difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion, the world inside is uniformly called the Thought Projection Scene,' which embodies the Historians' School's longings. But this river is not one that can be entered easily."

At this point, Chen Jing looked at Qiu Yan and said sincerely, "Brother Qiu, you opened the gates of the Scholar Forest and embarked on the Heart Path. You were drawn into a Thought Projection Scene. You should have already made some discoveries. That place is hard to distinguish between the real and the fake. If you live there for a long time, you may very well get lost in it. But after all, you are an outsider soul. Once your physical body decays, you will not be able to enter the underworld. You will be trapped in the River Crevice and will never be able to Transcendence."

"River Crevice..." Qiu Yan pondered for a moment, noticing the lingering shock on Tao Ying's face, and suddenly realized, "Could it be that Brother Chen and you just accidentally entered River Crevice?"

"That's right," Chen Jing sighed. "It was Brother Qiu who opened the Heart Path; we were merely basking in his glory. By accident, Brother Qiu was drawn here. The matter of the Liang Kingdom was actually a test, but we were not qualified to do so. We could only drift with the tide, thrown into the River Crevice. Our fates are intertwined with Brother Qiu's. If Brother Qiu doesn't escape, we will be trapped forever. Earlier, I focused my mind, wanting to send a message to Brother Qiu, to tell him something, to explain the origin of the Long River and the Thought Projection Scene, but I didn't succeed."

When Chen Jing spoke these words, he had a smile on his face, as if he wasn't talking about his own experience, but Qiu Yan could still sense a sense of danger between the lines.

At this moment, a look of curiosity suddenly appeared on Chen Jing's face. "Speaking of which, once you enter the Thought Projection Scene, it's very difficult to get out without some means. That Zhang Qin was obviously also a descendant, so he must have left a backup plan, able to enter and exit at will. But how did you get out, Brother Qiu?"

After saying this, he added, "After Brother Qiu advised the Liang ruler, the Thought Projections that had been lingering over him dissipated, making it difficult for us to continue to understand the situation. Hence this question. Of course, this is Brother Qiu's business; I am merely curious and would rather not say."

Qiu Yan smiled but did not answer. He knew that Chen Jing asked this not because he really wanted to know the result, but to show that he and Daoist Lu had not discovered Qiu Yan's secret, thus demonstrating their sincerity.

Chen Jing didn't take it seriously, no longer pressing for the reason or asking about Zhang Qin's whereabouts. Instead, he said, "I should remind Brother Qiu that the water of the Historical River can erode the soul. If you stay inside for too long, your soul will be tainted by the water, and your will will change, gradually assimilating with the Scholar Forest. Once that happens, it will be very difficult to return to the Mortal Realm."

"I see, thank you for reminding me, Brother Chen." Qiu Yan nodded, then suddenly his soul stirred and he noticed two figures rapidly approaching from not far away.

Qiu Yan's Divine Soul had been disturbed by the mist in the surrounding forest since he left the river, which greatly limited his perception range. As a result, he only noticed the two figures when they emerged from the Lin Zhong, but at that distance, they could already see each other!

"Hmm?" Chen Jing let out a soft exclamation, seemingly somewhat surprised.

Of the group, Chen Jing undoubtedly knew the most about Scholar Forest. Even he was surprised, let alone the others. Tao Ying panicked immediately, her hands and feet moving, her soul drifting to the side, just about to land on the riverbank.

Upon seeing this, Chen Jing suddenly exclaimed, "Brother Tao, don't land!"

As he spoke, Daoist Lu's figure swayed and appeared beside Tao Ying, raising his hand to grab her and prevent her from falling to the ground.

At the same time, two figures rushed out of the Lin Zhong and arrived in front of them. They were two men around thirty years old, dressed as scholars. When they arrived and saw the group of people on the river, they were taken aback at first, and then they bowed to each other.

Just then...

Call!

Suddenly, flames rose up from a spot by the river!

Heart Fire!

Once this Heart Fire was revealed, it exploded with a roar, stirring up the white frost on the ground and sending it flying towards everyone present!

In an instant, white frost filled the sky, crystal clear!

"Not good!" In the next moment, Chen Jing and the two arriving Confucian scholars all changed their expressions drastically!

Qiu Yan, however, had a sudden thought, opened his mouth, and blew out a breath.